Field Guide to Wild Mushrooms of Pennsylvania and the Mid-Atlantic

Fall Mushrooms

fall mushrooms Gilled; black spores 71 Shaggy mane Coprinus comatus (Müller : Fries) S. F. Gray (co-PRY-nus co-MAY-tus) Known locally as shaggie, shaggy inky cap. Start looking for this extroverted mushroom around the time of the first fall frosts in this region. It boldly shows itself off in big dense patches of bright white caps against the dark green background of mowed lawns. It seems to beg to be picked. Because it’s so easy to see, it’s a mushroom you can hunt from your car as you drive around suburban areas. Mushroomers in this region call the technique “road hunting.” (While this may be a good method for hunting shaggy manes, puffballs, and certain other species, forget it in morel season. Most mushroomers can’t see morels unless they walk right up to them.) Those beautiful white shaggy mane caps don’t last long, especially in warm weather. Like other Coprinus species, within a few hours they begin to dissolve into black goo from the bottom of the cap upwards. It’s not decay, but a natural self-digesting process that allows the mushroom to propagate itself. That black icky stuff contains millions of spores. Most mushroom species use the wind to disperse their spores, but inky caps rely more on the rain to wash this black material away to spread their spores around. This self-dissolving process can be so fast that the caps can disappear in one day, leaving a bare stem behind. So when you gather shaggy manes for dinner, take the young ones and get them home fast. If you plan to keep them for more than a couple of hours before cooking, store them in ice water. The shaggy mane is one of the best beginner’s mushrooms. It doesn’t look much like any other species . Besides being easy to find, it has a wonderful delicate flavor. Practically every mushroom guidebook describes it because it is cherished around the world. For many novices, the first wild mushroom that they eat is the shaggy mane. 153 Fall Mushrooms Inanutshell:Large, late-season, oblong shaggy white caps that dissolve into black goo. Grows in groups in lawns and grassy places. Cap: 1 1/2" to 3" long; oblong when young, but opening to a bell shape with age; white, soon dissolving into a black sludge; surface covered with yellowish scales, giving it a shaggy appearance. Gills: White, becoming pinkish or reddish, then dissolving into a black liquid. Spore print: Black. It’s difficult to make a clean print because the gills liquefy quickly. Stem: 3" to 6" long, 3/8" to 3/4" thick; white, smooth, hollow; with a ring when young. Growth habit: In groups, mostly in lawns, but also in pastures and waste places. Mainly September through October. Edibility: Excellent. Copycats: Not easily confused with other mushroom species. Check out other Coprinus species in this book and other guides. Tip: When you clean shaggy manes in your kitchen, expect to trim away lots of inky black gunk. Don’t throw it in the garbage pail, though. Scatter it around your lawn and on places where the soil was disturbed or dug up. If you are lucky, you may be picking shaggies in your backyard next fall and probably for years afterward. This is one of the easiest mushrooms to cultivate this way. Gilled; brown spores 72 Painted cortinarius Cortinarius bolaris Fries (cor-tin-NAR-ree-us boe-LAR-riss) This mushroom seems to enjoy playing hide-andseek . In most places in this region, you can search 154 Wild Mushrooms of Pennsylvania and the Mid-Atlantic for a good part of your lifetime and not find it. Little wonder that it’s left out of many guidebooks. Then, in a year when the conditions are right, it comes out of hiding with flamboyance and pizzazz. At those rare, special times when you find it, you will wonder how such a shy mushroom can be so gaudy and easy to identify. A white cobwebby veil stretches between the edge of the cap and stem when the mushroom is young. Small red scales cover the cap and stem. When you handle the painted cortinarius, yellowish red stains appear on the stem from bruising. Too bad more mushrooms don’t display such distinctive features. Mushroomers appreciate such cooperation when they set out to identify a new species. Unfortunately, you will...